A conference on the high-quality trade cooperation between Baotou and Central Asia was held on Jan 26 in Beijing.

Focusing on deepening economic and trade cooperation, it brought together representatives from key enterprises, local governments, and chambers of commerce and industry of the five Central Asian countries and Belarus, as well as representatives from more than 20 leading enterprises in Baotou.

Shi Lina, director of the Baotou municipal commerce bureau, introduced the industrial complementary advantages between Baotou and Central Asian countries in her speech.

Baotou boasts a complete industrial chain that is strong in equipment manufacturing, rare earth new materials, and green energy. Meanwhile, Central Asian countries are rich in resources like energy, minerals, and agricultural goods. This, coupled with their keen demand for infrastructure upgrading, makes them highly aligned with Baotou's industrial layout, Shi noted.

During a key promotional session, Xu Yongxin, a representative of Baotou’s Hondlon district, and representatives from Uzbekistan and Belarus presented the tax incentives, logistics support, and key cooperation directions of their respective regions, among which the cross-border logistics dividends brought by the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway have become a focus.

Multiple Baotou enterprises promoted their core products, including heavy machinery parts, green agricultural fertilizers, and astragalus products, in response to the market demand of Central Asian countries, many of which have obtained international standard certifications in the region.

A number of cooperation agreements were reached, covering equipment manufacturing, mineral processing, and agricultural product trade, highlighting the cooperative trend of both sides shifting from "single trade" to "industrial collaboration".

The event has not only smoothed the government-enterprise matchmaking channels between Baotou and Central Asian countries, but also transformed the Belt and Road Initiative into cooperation outcomes through concrete project signings, industrial promotions, and case sharing.

Trade cooperation between Baotou and Central Asian countries is expanding from commodity circulation to industrial co-construction and market sharing, injecting strong impetus into the high-quality development of the regional economy.